I don't put much faith in Mercathode. However, I don't leavy my boat in salt water. They will suck a battery down if you don't have shore power and good battery charger. I have a Bravo 1 and my zinks look like yours.
That old of a boat, I believe it is time to pull drive and replace all hoses and bellows, at least look for cracks. 10 years is about average life here in NW Florida.
Not 100% knowledgeable with MPI, only carbureted V8s, but to access coupler, drive and motor will have to be pulled. Who said coupler was bad and how did they prove it???? Perhaps u just spun a prop hub?
I have always used car batteries. BUT, I always have had dual V8s with battery selectors and good alternators. You can drain a marine battery many more times vs a car battery.
MC makes a special tool to press in bearing. If female part is clean, it should bottom out. Make sure grease cavity lines up correctly with bearing and housing. Some bearings are sealed, and some are not sealed.
There is great advice above!!!!! U may want to invest in air tools and a compressor. I have restored 2 boats built with crap and not sealed well. The air chisels work great to quickly eliminate crud and rot. However, access below deck make require cutting deck out to access forward stringer...
Have u check timing with light to determine if it advances and reduces as RPMs increase of decrease. Unless u pulled distributor, I doubt it has changed. However, this test will at least rule out one more problem.
and they make a lot of money replacing motors. Water over damn now, but owner should have used contractor bag or wrap with tarp, if he left with them. If they left outside, that would have been a dead give a way.
I have been down this slippery slope before with an old 30' Penn Yann. No decent carrier wanted to insure unless I spent a grand back in the early 80s for a complete survey. That mean hauling out and inspecting and full transmission and motor(s) inspection. No stone left unturned. I feel that if...
